My sister (Susan), daughter (Laura), niece (Rachelle) and her friend, Callie, and I arrived in Firenze from Rome early afternoon, December 7, 2023; our goal being to see the lighting of the Christmas tree as well as other holiday lights. We succeeded at that but for the others, it became pretty much a shopping extravaganza. […]
Read MoreTag: Bardini Gardens
More museums, monuments and interesting places
Italy Pompeii http://pompeiisites.org/en/ In 2021 I visited Pompeii for the first time and I’m still in awe. I was staying in Sorrento and took the Circumvesuviana train from Sorrento to Pompeii. From what I could see of the schedule for the Circumvesuviana train. Not every train stops in Pompeii so make sure you’re getting on […]
Read MoreThree Days in Firenze
A Strange and Different Firenze. Early October is typically the height of the tourist season but it was a strange and different Firenze in early October 2021. Much of that was due to the ongoing COVID restrictions. In Firenze, as in the rest of Italy, masks were required for all indoor activities including restaurants and […]
Read MoreFirenze, old and new
In 2018 my sister and I spent 10 days in Firenze. The previous year (2017) I spent two weeks in Firenze at a language school (see Istituto Michelangelo, parte uno and Istituto Michelangelo, parte due) and I was excited to show my sister some new places plus go to our old favorites. However, some of […]
Read MoreFlorence and Fiesole, parte due
This post is based mainly on my time in Firenze during late September, early October 2017 when I took a two week course in Italian. I took the course through a special 50+ program at the Michelangelo Institute. It also includes some time spent in Firenze after a cruise from Venice to some of the Greek […]
Read MoreFlorence and Fiesole
It’s difficult to know where to start when writing about Florence (Firenze) and Fiesole. I fell in love with the city the first time I came, following a bike trip, and have returned 10 times since then. One of my favorite memories from that trip was walking down a narrow street from my hotel on […]
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